Distributed Space-Time Block Coding for Amplify-and-Forward Cooperative Networks

Abstract

This chapter focuses on distributed space-time codes (DSTCs) in cooperative networks. DSTCs can substantially improve the bandwidth efficiency of the cooperative network without requiring any feedback overheads from the destination to the relays. The first part of this chapter is dedicated to reviewing the existing works on DSTCs. In the second part of this chapter, distributed orthogonal space-time block codes (DOSTBCs) are presented in detail. It is shown that the DOSTBCs can achieve the single-symbol maximum likelihood decodability and full diversity order in an amplify-and-forward cooperative network. Then some special DOSTBCs, which generate uncorrelated noises at the destination, are introduced. Those codes are referred to as the row-monomial DOSTBCs. An upper bound of the data-rate of the row-monomial DOSTBC is derived and the codes achieving the upper bound are presented as well.